Come Back to Afghanistan: Trying to Rebuild a Country ... (ISBN 1596910682)

It will make you want to go to Afghanistan:
Yesterday a friend asked what I was reading. I just finished 'Come Back to Afghanistan: My Journey from California to Kabul' written by Said Hyder Akbar, a 20-year old college student in California. Like many others, Akbar's story is a migrating one - from Afghanistan to Pakistan, India, and then the USA. When the Taliban were ousted in 2001, Akbar's father, a long time friend of President Hamid Karzai decided to go back to Afghanistan. Akbar started coming with him on his school and college breaks, and got back in touch with his country that he had left a long time ago. It's a homecoming of sorts. The book is brilliant. Written with the assistance of journalist Susan Brunton, Akbar takes us into corners and niches that few books on Afghanistan do. It is deeply personal and highly political without the usual history, geography or other details. Born in Afghanistan and raised in the US, Akbar is able to straddle both countries and regions. He neither despairs nor scoffs at anyone or anytime. His writing is passionate, gentle and unassuming. Akbar's goal in Afghanistan is to be with his father and get to know his country. He travels with, among other things, a tape recorder, and makes programmes for National Pubic Radio in California. He interviews the person in the highest office - President Karzai - as well as his driver, Sartor. He listens to everyone and judges none. During the two years he goes back and forth, Akbar's brother and mother visit Afghanistan. His father is appointed as the Governor of the province of Kunar, a remote and troubled area, where the family collects and lives together. Through sickness and health Akbar goes through the journeys he charts for himself. His writing is sensitive and engaging. It never strays or lags. It is clear that he loves Afghanistan, is sensing what his relationship with his old land is, and how it will develop. He is conscious of the contradictions within himself. When I think about why I liked the book so much, and the experience of reading the book, I feel it its so akin to my time in Afghanistan. Without being able to speak the language (Dari an Pashto), I communicated with those I could, in Urdu, Hindi and English. I reached out to the humanity in them, and they in turn, reached out to mine. In the final analysis the book is about being reconciled to where we come from. No matter where we are, our multiple identities always call us to the land we were born, and we yearn to return. That has been my experience too. The book also describes the Afghan situation - the challenges to the Afghan people, the leaders, the donor community and Americans stationed in Afghanistan and back home. It presents everyone's reality. Akbar's strength is his ability to see what is happening, from many perspectives, and present it in a dispassionate way. In a growing body of literature on Afghanistan, Akbar's will enjoy a place of pride. It's young, passionate, and terribly easy to read.

Interesting story:
The beginning of the book where he had talked about the plane parts in the airport, really got me to read it. I had to read a non fiction book for LA, and I chose this book. It looked like an interesting story so I picked it up and read it. I really enjoyed the book but I had some questions for the author. For instance: If you knew what was happening in Afghanistan why did you still choose to go there. I would not have because I wou;d've been afraid to go there and something happen to me. I really liked your writing style and how you described the bombing and crossing into Pakistand. Very good book but it's kind of confusing for me

THIS REVIEW IS USELESS:
That's right, don't bother rating it, because I'm here to say I'll never read a book by some over-privileged little delinquent who crawls out of Taliban-infested Afghanistan, gets citizenship in this country, gets into Yale, publishes a book, and then . . . gets together with his two teenaged foreigner buddies and burns the American flag. Oh, how very chic. What a statement.

Liked it, but disappointed in the Author:
After reading this book, I felt I had a better understanding of the situation in Afghanistan. I really have no experience with the situation there, and this book helped me to understand on a more basic level. I was very upset to hear that the author burned the American flag recently. Until I hear his defense, as an American I no longer feel that I can support this book.

A book that is well paced, well written, and chuck full of adventure!:
Said Hyder Akbar is a surprisingly strong writer for his age. The way that he leads the reader into this exotic world is amazing. One genuinely gets to feel some of the things that are in the news as far as the conflict near Pakistan's border. Although the book was written in 2006 many of his observations ring true to this day. If you are interested in Afghanistan/Pakistan make sure to read this book becuase it will not dissapoint you.